MHT extraction and track maintenance of a target formation

Tracking of a group of targets temporarily operating in formation is relevant for military air-surveillance. An optimal sequential multiple hypothesis tracking (MHT) track extraction and track maintenance method for well-separated single targets embedded in clutter has been described in an earlier paper. However, applied to a group of closely spaced targets, its performance is not acceptable due to data miscorrelation. Here the approach has been generalized to include extraction and maintenance of a maneuvering formation in the presence of clutter. The unknown number of targets and imperfect detection when the group newly appears is modeled within the MHT framework. The generalized method solves the problem very well and can also track a formation after the targets separate